Apple Premieres iTunes Movies in Australia and New Zealand [Updated]

Apple announced today that movies from major film studios are now available on the iTunes Store in Australia and New Zealand. Both movie purchases and rentals are available from studies including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate.

The iTunes Store in Australia and New Zealand have over 700 films available for rent or purchase with new release titles available for purchase on the same day as DVD release.

Movie fans in Australia and New Zealand can choose from a great selection of over 700 films for purchase and rent on the iTunes Store, said Eddy Cue, Apples vice president of Internet Services. iTunes provides an incredibly easy and fun way for people to discover and enjoy movies, and has quickly become the worlds most popular online movie store with customers renting and purchasing over 50,000 movies everyday.

iTunes movies in Australia start at A$9.99 for catalog title purchases, A$17.99 for recent releases and A$24.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are A$3.99 for library title rentals and A$5.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more.

iTunes movies in New Zealand start at NZ$9.99 for catalog title purchases, NZ$17.99 for recent releases and NZ$24.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are NZ$4.99 for library title rentals and NZ$6.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more.

Update: Movie rentals appear to be 48 hours, unlike the U.S. rentals which are 24 hours.

setteB.IT reports that the Apple TV is now cheaper in Australia at AU$330 for the 40GB model and AU$450 for the 160GB model, down from AU$450 and AU$580, respectively. New Zealand prices for the Apple TV have remained the same.

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